mihawk_in_japanesefandomcom-20200214-history
User blog:Fantastic Voyage/Ch 924-2 What is in the cell？
I heard that there is a topic about the mysterious prisoner given poison fish once a day in the dark cell. I think that the author uses interesting sentences among prison keepers in their balloons, as usual... :-D It is a kind of traditional quiz among children, この指、何本？:how many fingers do you guess? ��　��　�� In Japanese, there are various counting words suffixed by a numeral, like unit of measurement, such as a "dozen" eggs, 80 "miles" per "hour", a unit of wheat is a "bushel". : For example, it was common for 500 石:koku (= 2500 bushel) vassals to be allowed one Yonin. - Kyoto corpus It is also called counter suffix, counters for various categories. The counter suffix for something long is usually 本Hon/Bon/Pon, such as fingers, sticks, ropes, trees, etc. The basic pronunciation for 本 is Hon, but it is often changed into Bon or Pon euphorically. Generally, distinction between voiced sound and unvoiced sound, like H(F)/B(V)/P, is not so fixed firmly in Japanese, even though it is used for the name of country... Japan:日本 is pronounced sometimes as Nippon, sometimes as Nihon. ✌　✌　✌　 Anyway, the quiz "この指、何本？:how many fingers do you guess?" is; The host makes a quiz to show some of his/her fingers standing, like V sign. : この指、何本？ There are three patterns of pronunciation for 本 as a counter suffix. : １本Ip-Pon ＝ Nan-Pon with interrogative pronoun 何Nan(i):how many. ２本Ni-Hon ＝ Nan-Hon ３本San-Bon ＝ Nan-Bon So that, if the host says Nan-Pon, then the answer is "１本Ip-Pon", even though he/she shows two or three fingers standing. : If Nan-Hon, then ２本Ni-Hon. If Nan-Bon, then ３本San-Bon. What the guests see is nonsense in this quiz. What the guests hear makes sense. The author sometimes uses this quiz. He is really childish... I really like him... ��　��　�� By the way, the young prison keepers don't know what (who) is in the cell. They wonder; 　何(なにNani)が　いるIruんだ？　この檻(おり)・・・ 　何(なにNan(i))です？ 　何(なにNani)が　いるIruんですか　あの中(なか)に？ There is three pattens of the relationship between "actors" and "be" in modern (standard) Japanese. : actors - be A:誰(だれ) - いる -> human beings B:何(なに) - いる -> beings which seem to have will, like the poison fish. C:何(なに) - ある -> beings which seem to have no will, like the fish bone. If we go into the dark and happen to hear something unknown, then we cry to tell our danger each other: : If we hear something like language, such as "oops! ouch!" then; A:誰(だれ)　か　いる！ : If we hear something like squeeze, such as "guuu!", then; B:何(なに)　か　いる！ : If we hear something like sound, such as "click!", then; C:何(なに)　か　ある！ The prison keepers use not who:誰(だれ) but what:何(なに), and use not ある but いる for "be", as if it is an animal or a monster of B type in Japanese. At this point, they don't identify something unknown in the dark cell as a human being firmly. It is interesting that they don't name it! Category:Blog posts